Sunday 6 September 2020

Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea)

OTHER NAMES: Muttonbird
Latin Etymology: Ardenna ("of Ardennes") grisea ("grey")

Adult Sooty Shearwaters (Ardenna grisea) on Half Moon Bay Pelagic - September 2022

Featured Subspecies: None - monotypic
Weight: 650-980g  /  Length: 40-51cm  /  Wingspan: 94-110cm
UK GREEN LIST IUCN Red List: Near Threatened

The sooty shearwater is a somewhat strange species to quantify; it had a vast range that covers much of the Atlantic, Pacific and South Seas ranging from Iceland to nearly Antarctica, and circumnavigates the world. Yet it also has a very very small number of breeding locations - limited entirely to some at the Southern most tip of South America, the East Coast of Australia and a number around New Zealand. Yet because of their pelagic lifestyle they wander the globe hunting for fish and squid, often following whales. They are one of a number of all-dark shearwater species globally, but the only one found in the UK, where they are best seen in late Summer.

Related Species:
Order: Procellariiformes
Family: Procellariidae
Genus: Ardenna
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - A somewhat uncommon pelagic passage migrant.
 - One bird seen on a boat trip off The Lizard, Cornwall
UNITED STATES 
Found off Pacific and Atlantic Coasts, including Hawai'i
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Abundant on the Half Moon Bay Pelagic Trip

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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